Obama promotes his record in 'Year of Action'

May 3, 2014

Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is promoting the work he's done in what he's calling his "Year of Action."

In his weekly radio and online address Saturday, the president says he's taken more than 20 executive actions to help the economy. The White House paired the address with a 28-page progress report detailing each action.

With midterm elections six months away, Obama is criticizing congressional Republicans for blocking a minimum wage increase and other parts of his economic agenda. House Speaker John Boehner's office responds that if Obama really wants to create jobs, he'd approve the Keystone XL pipeline to bring oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries.

In the Republican address, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida says Obama should be imposing tougher sanctions on Russia over unrest in Ukraine.